Machine for supplying and affixing stamps.



P. G. E. DANIEL 6v C. A. H. BULLOCK.

' A MACHINE FOR SUPPLYING AND APFIXING STAMPS.

APPLIoATIoN HLBD Jmm23,19o9.

1,029,671" Patented June 18, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANouHAPl-l C0.,WASHx1u1'oN. n. c.

I. E. DANIEL 6v C. A. H. BULLOCK. MAGHPINE FOR SUPPLYING AND AFFIXING STAMPS.

APrLIoATIoN FILED JUNE 23,1909.

Patented June 18, 19'12.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

col-UMBIA PLANUGRAPH co..wAsHlNuToN, D. C.

PERCY GORDON ECKERSLEY DANIEL, `OF CLEVEDON,

Ann oHAnLEs AsHToNVHENRY BULLOGK, 0F LONDON, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR SUPPLYING AND AFFIXING STAMPS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application 1ed .Tune 23, 1909.

Patented Julie 18, 1912. Serial No. 503,940.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Pliner GORDON ECK- nnsrnr DANIEL and CHARLns'Asi-ITON HENRY BULLooK, subjects of Britain, residing the first-named at Clevedon, in the county of Somerset, England, and t-he second-named at London, in the county of London, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Supplying and AfliXing Stamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for supplying and affiXing adhesive stamps and vouchers.`

This invention relates to improvements in machines for supplying and aflixing stamps, vouchers and the like, and consists of cer tain improvements and .modifications in the construction and arrangement of the operating parts of the machine, which result in the provision of'a machine of more simple and inexpensive construction and of greater efficiency and reliability in use than those hitherto proposed.

An important feature of the original invention consists in the means for feeding the stamp strip and one object of the present invention is the provision of a feeding device involving the same principles, but of such a construction that immediately the stamp has been fed forward the desired distance, the feed carriage flies back again to its position of rest and remains in that position until the operating handle has also been allowed to return to the normal position and then again operated. By this means the machine can be operated more rapidly than heretofore and with less liability to fail. This will be readily understood when it is ,remembered that in the present construction the feed carriage, at once returning to its position of rest before the plunger has reached its lowest position7 has ample time to insure the whole of its working parts returning to their normal positions ready for the next operation. Moreover the present arrangement and construction of feeding device enable the last stamp of the strip to chine since the feeding' arm engages the perforations between the first and second instead of the second and third stamp upon the strip as in the former construction, and this also insures a better feed readily understood that if the stamp is dithe King of Great 'struction and be delivered from the mafor it will beV rectly pushed forward there is less liability to cockle than ifhas in the previous construction-the second stamp of the strip were really being moved forward to push the stamp infront of it into position for use. Y

A further feature of our invention consists in the provision of duplicate water tanksor a common water tank having du'- plicate discharge pipeshof improved condesigned to be so operated that tlie water is discharged in the proper direction. Moreover the being out away entirely is bored or provided with suitable openings for the water to pass through. By this means the stamp is guided the whole way down and there is less liability of its becoming displaced. And in order that this our invention may be more readily understood and carried into practical effect, reference is hereby made to the accompanying sheets of illustrative drawings wherein- Figure l is a vertical section of a machine constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is an elevational view thereof. Fig. 3 is an under-plan view thereof. Fig. 4- is a sectional view illustrating the construction of the water tanks. Figs. 5 and 6 are plan and elevational views respectivelyv of a modified form of water tank and its operatingconnections, while Fig. 7 is a view showing a modified construction of stamp strip guide.

Referring to these drawings wherein like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts wherever occurring A designates a casing within which a plunger B slides. The plunger B carries a V-shaped knife B1 which operates to eut oft' each stamp from the strip as will hereafter appear. A plunger rod B2 passes upward through a guide or orifice A1 in the top of the casing and the upper-extremity of this rod B2 is provided with an operating handle or knob B3. Springs B4 and B operate to maintain the plunger in itsnormal or raised position. The plunger proper B preferably consists of a rubber or other yielding buffer, and the lower surface of this buffer is somewhat. concave while the openings BG are provided to give the said buffer increased iiexibility. Proceeding from a slot in the provide the guide has a feed carriage D adapted casing Awe stamp` strip guide C and this to slide casing instead of upon it, its forward movement being suitable stop D5 conveniently arrangednear the lower end of a rocking lever E. The feed carriage D .carries a pivoted and spring controlled feeding arm or member D1 and the forward end of this feeding arm or member D1 has depending bevel teeth D2, which in operation engage the perforations of the stamp strip. Pivoted at A2 to the top of the casing A we provide 'a flexible spring controlled arm or rocking lever E and the lower end of this flexible arm or lever E is provided with a bifurcated or slotted block E1 which engages the pin D3 upon which the spring controlled feeding arm D1 is pivoted. This arm E is normally held in its outward position shown in Fig. l by means of the knife spring E3. Ata convenient positionV toward the upper end of the flexible arm or lever E a beveled catch or projection E2 is pivoted and this catch E2 is normally held in its operative position by means of a suitable spring such as E2. The plunger rod B2 carries a horizontally projecting member BT which passes through a slot in the casing A and carries at its extremity a roller BS, which roller BS coperateswith the catch E2 in a manner which will hereafter be made clear. Upon the side of the flexible arm E opposite that upon which the pivoted catch freely limited by a E2 is carried, a fixed wedge or safety catch- E5 is attached and a roller B12 carried by the plunger rod B2 operates against this vcatch so as to provide against any liability of the feed carriage D remaining too long in its forward position. v

It will be clear that immediately the roller B12 contacts with the xed wedge or safety catch E5 the tendency of the feed carriage D is to return to its normal position both under the influence of its spring, and also by the operation of the roller B12 against this catch. It will of course be understood that this catch E5 is so situated as to come into operation immediately the roller B5 has passed the pivoted catch E2. As a matter of fact, this safety catch does not always come into operation but is provided merely as a safety device for fear any outside agency should operate to retard the return movement of the carriage D.

Upon a suit-ably disposed bracket F carried by the casing A a removable stamp spool F1 is mounted and the stamp strip F2 is fed from this spool between the guide rollers F3 and F4 into the stamp strip guide C. is preferably carried by and is maintained in the pivoted member F5 by means of the Contact with the roller F3 spring F6.

Pivoted upon the sides of the casing A arms G are arranged and the lower ends of these arms are connected to and carry the water tanks G1. The arms G upon one side carry pivoted catches G2 and the two arms are caused to tend to come together by means of the spring G3 or by any other suit-able means. Associated with the plunger rod B2 a wedge or cam block G9 is provided, which wedge or cam operate' with the pivoted catches G2 in a manner which will hereafter appear. The water tanks G1 are constructed as shown in Fig. 4, baiile plates G4 extending almost entirely across the bottom of the tank, while funnel shaped pipes G5 extend from the top of the tanks to the bottom, small orifices G6 being provided in the bottom of the pipes G5 so that the water within the tanks has access to the pipes G5. The tops of the tanks are provided with pin holes Gx centrally of the funnel shaped pipes G5 and jets or nozzles 7 are provided through which the water for effecting' the Vdamping of the envelops `or the like is ejected. The baflies G1 are provided so that a regular weight and volume of water shall at each operation be discharged at the jets or nozzles G7 While the funnel shaped pipes G5 Vare provided, in order to prevent leakage at the nozzles when, owing to handling or other causes, expansion consequent upon a rise in temperature takes place wit-hin the tanks. It has been found in practice that if hermetically sealed tanks are employed, the mere handling of them is sufficient to cause such an expansion of the contents as will cause a slight leakage at the jets. In the present construction the expansion would cause the volume of liquid within the tanks to rise in the pipes G5 instead of leaking through the jets G1. This is a point of some practical import-ance, since it renders the machine absolutely cleanly in use.

Suitably situated we provide the counting device H of known construction. This counting device is operated by a pivoted lever H1 which cooperates with a catch B10 carried by the plunger rod B2. The lever H1 is controlled by the light leaf spring H2 so that the mechanism of the counting device returns to its normal position after each operation ready for the next operation.

Tn operation the stamp strip is fed from the spool F1 through the guide C until the perforations between the first and second stamp of the strip engage upon the tooth C1 carried by the pivoted lever G2, and in order to facilitate this initial adjustment both the lever C2 and the feeding arm D1 are provided with finger pieces C2 and D1 which can be pressed together so as to lift the tooth C1 and the teeth D2 outof the way for the moment.

Assuming that the stamp strip is in posi-- ready for operation and it will be noticed that the stamp strip cannot have any retroblock is adapted to cograde movement accidentally imparted to it, owing to the tooth C1. The device as a whole is now lifted on` to the envelop or the like upon which it is desired to raffix a stamp. The plunger is now depressed and the ro-ller Bs carried by the member B7 descends and engages the catch E2 in cam fashion against it, causing the flexible arm E to move about its pivot A2 and thus the feed carriage D is moved forward. The normal position of the feed carriage is such that t-he teeth D2 are situated somewhere between the perforationsseparating the first and second, and the second and third stamps of the strip. That is to say, such teeth are resting somewhere on the second stamp of the strip. As the feed carriage D slides forward, the teeth D2 must therefore fall rmly into the perforations between the lirst and second stamp immediately such teeth reach av position coincident with such perforations, and it follows that the further movement of the feed carriage or slide D will cause the first stamp to be carried fo-rward and this stamp is in fact carried forward until the adjustable stop Dt contacts with the casing A and when in this position, the perforations between the first and second stamps of the strip lie exactly under the knife B1. This method of feeding is of great importance because it avoids `the great difiiculty which has hitherto been experienced in machines of this class, where the feed is designed to move forward a defi nite distance. It has been found in practice impossible to feed forward a definite distance wit-hout the possibility of slight error which, accumulating at every operation, soon renders the machine so muchout of adjustment that the stamps eventually get cut off in the middle. It will be noticed that in our machine although there may be error in the actual distance of the feed, the error does not matter since whatever happens the feed slide moves forward to a definite point after which any further tendency to feed is taken up by the resilient arm (in this case E). Immediately the ro-ller BS has passed. the catch E2, the arm E flies back under the influence of its spring E3, and 1n order to limit the rearward movement of the feed slide or carriage D a stop C4 is fixed upon the guide C. This stop need not be adjustable since it is immaterial how far the slide moves back so long as the teeth D2 take up a position somewhere upon the second stamp of the strip. As previously stated any tendency of the feed carriage to remain in the forward position is obviated by the safety catch E5 as before described. Simultaneously with the movement of the feed slide or carriage D in the manner before described, the wedge or cam block G9 operates uponthe pivoted catches G2 and in order torender the operation free from concussion these catches are provided with springs G4 which absorb'any shock consequent upon the first cont-act of the cam block G9 with' them. The cam block G9 operating against the catches G2 causes the levers G to move about their pivots against the influence of the spring G3 and the tanks G1 are thus carried out. Immediately however the cam block GD has passed the catches G2, the levers G comeY together sharply under the infiuence of the said spring G3 and the shock thus imparted causes the ejectment or discharge of minute particles of water through the nozzles GT, and the moisture thus providedy is directed through the perforations A3 in the casing A upon the envelop or the like immediately beneath. This operation is arranged to take place just before the plunger B finally descends so that when this damping operation has been effected and the stamp has been fed forward to its correct position, the plunger still continues to descend and the knife B1 cuts off the stamp and the plunger B presses it on to the already damped envelop. In its downward movement the plunger rod B2, by means ofthe catch Bw engaging the pivoted lever H1 also operates the counting device H so that the fact that a stamp has been withdrawn from the machine is automatically recorded. The plunger knob is now released and the plunger and its rod return to their normal positions ready for the next operation.

`W e have described our machine as having duplicate water tanks simultaneously operated to discharge liquid beneath the stamp, but the same effect may be produced by providing one common tank as shown in Figs. 5 and G. In this case the tank I is in the main` constructed on the lines of those previously described but such tank is provided with side pipes I1 having jets or nozzles I2. The tank is arranged to slide horizontally against the influence of the centrally situated spring I3 when the plunger rod B2 descends, a catch such as B11 upon the plunger rod operating cam fashion against a pivoted catch I4 associa-ted with the tank through the pivoted rod T5, causing such tank to bel operated in a manner which will be readily understood, to cause jets of moisture to be thrown by concussion from the jets or nozzles I2. Although in this case the bodily movement of the tank would be at right angles to the direction in which the moisture is to be sprayed it has been found by experiment that the water is discharged from the nozzles in the desired direction and falls upon the envelop beneath the stamps to be affixed.

In order to provide against any splashes of water which might inadvertently drop on the base outside the casing A remaining thereon, we provide said base with an abonly sorbent pad J so that even if some drops of water do fall outside, they become immediately absorbed, thus insuring the cleanliness of the apparatus when in use.

In Fig. 7 we have shown the guide C curved and although this may not be quite so advantageous from the point of view of manufacture it has some advantages. Not doesit permit the stamp spool to be so situated that the guide rollers F3 and F4 may be dispensed with, but it offers a slight resistance to the passage of the stamp strip and thus prevents any liability of the last stamp of the strip being fed forward too freely.

It will thus be seen that a machine con* structed in accordance with the present invention, at each operation automatically performs the functions of automatically feeding the stamp forward, cutting off a stamp from the strip, damping the envelop or the like, and aiiixing said stamp thereto.

"What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In machines for supplying and affixing stamps, the combination of a casing, a plunger sliding within the casing, a stamp strip guide proceeding from the casing, a stamp strip feeding carriage, sliding in the stamp stripguide, a spring controlled flexible feed arm pivoted at its upper end to the casing and engaging the feed slide at its lower end, a pivoted spring controlled catch carried by the feed arm, an obstruction carried by the plunger and cooperating with the pivoted catch to move the feed slide forward, an adaptable stop to limit the forward travel of the feed carriage, a damping device adapted to spray moisture on to the surface to which-the stamp is to be affixed, a cutting device and an aiiixing device, substantially as specified.

2. In machines for supplying and affixing stamps, the combination of a casing, a plunger sliding within the casing, a stamp strip guide proceeding from the casing, a stamp strip feeding carriage, sliding in the stamp strip guide, a spring controlled iieXible feed arm pivoted at its upper end to the casing and engaging the feed slide at its lower end, a pivoted spring controlled catch carried b y the feed arm, an obstruction carried' by the plunger and cooperating with the pivoted catch to move the feed slide forward, a safety catch carried upon the fleXible feed arm, an obstruction carried by the plunger and cooperating with the safety catch to insure carriage, an adjustable stop to limit the forward travel of the feed carriage, a damping device adapted to spray moisture on to the surface to which the stamp is to be affixed, a cutting device and an affxing device, substantially as specified.

8. 1n machines for supplying and afIiXing the rapid return of the feed' stamps, the combination of a casing, a plunger sliding within the casing, a stamp strip guide proceeding from the casing, a stamp strip feeding carriage, sliding in the stamp strip guide, a spring controlled flexible feed arm pivoted at its upper end tothe casing and engaging the feed slide at its lower end, a pivoted spring controlled catch carried by the feed arm, an obst-ruction carried by the plunger andcoperating with the pivoted catch tomove the feed slide forward, an adaptable stop to limit the forward travel of the feed carriage, duplicate damping devices, means for operating said damping devices to spray moisture in diametrically opposed direct-ions on to the surface to which the stamp is to be affixed, a cutting device and an affiXing device, substantially as specified.

4t. In machines for supplying and affiXing stamps, the combination of a casing a plunger sliding within the casing, a stamp strip guide proceeding from the casing, a stamp strip feeding carriage, sliding in the stamp strip guide, a spring controlled fleXible feed arm pivoted at its upper end to the casing and engaging the feed slide at its lower end, apivoted spring controlled catch carried by the feed arm, an obstruction carried by the plunger and cooperating with the pivoted ward, a safety catch carried upon the flexible feed arm, an obstruction carried by the plunger and cooperating with the safety catch to insure the rapid return of the feed carriage, an adjustable stop to limit the forward travel of the feed carriage, duplicate damping devices, means for operating said damping devices to spray moisture in dia- `metrically opposed directions on tothe surface to which the stamp is to be affixed, substantially as specified.

5. In machines for supplying and affiXing stamps, the combination of a casing, a plunger sliding within the casing, a stamp strip guide proceeding from the casing, a stamp strip feeding carriage, sliding in the stamp strip guide, a spring controlled iieXible feed arm pivoted at its upper end to the casing and engaging the feed slide at its lower end, a pivoted spring controlled catch carried by the feed arm, an obstruction carried by the plunger and cooperating with the pivoted catch to move the feed slide forward, an adaptable stop to limit the forward travel ofthe feed carriage, a spring controlled pawl device for preventing retrograde movement of the stamp strip after it has been fed forward, a damping device adapted to spray moisture on to the surface to which the stamp is to be affixed, a cutting device and an affiXing device, substantially as specified.

6. In machines for supplying and affiXing stamps, the combination of a casing, a

plunger sliding within the casing, a stamp strip feeding device operated by the plunger, to feed the stamp strip forward, duplicate Water carrying' tanks, diametrically opposed discharge nozzles proceeding from the tanks, levers pivoted to the casing at their upper ends and carrying the Water tanks at their lower ends, means carried by the plunger rod for causing the levers to move about their pivots and carry the Water tanks out as the plunger is depressed, a spring for rapidly restoring said levers to their normal positions so as to cause moisture to be discharged by concussion from the nozzles aforesaid in diametrically opposite directions on to the surface te be\ moistened, a cutting device and an'aflixing device, substantially as specified.

7. In machines for supplying and aiiiXing stamps, the combination of a casing, a plunger sliding Within the casing, a stamp strip feeding device operated by the plunger to feed the stamp strip forward, duplicate Water carrying' tanks having nozzles diametrically opposed, rocking levers conveying said tanks, catches, pivoted to the rocking levers, an obstruction carried by the plunger rod cooperating with the pivoted catches to rock the levers in opposite directions, a spring operating to rapidly dra7 the levers together again when the obstruction on the plunger has passed the pivoted catches, whereby moisture is discharged from the diametrically opposed nozzles on to the surface to be moistened, a cutting device and an aiiixing device, substantially as specified.

In Witness whereof We have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two Witnesses.

PERCY GORDON ECKERSLEY DANIEL. CHARLES ASHTON HENRY BULLOCK.

Witnesses AYD. A. THORNTON, H. D. JAMESON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. E 

